ITV explore the Euro-phoria of football

A year behind schedule due to the pandemic, Euros 2020 is starting later this month and ITV Sport is celebrating by releasing its new campaign.

Called The Good Times Start Here and starring former Arsenal and England player ian Wright, the spot was created by ITV Creative, ITV's in-house agency. The film highlights fans’ enthusiasm for the comeback of the European Championship 2020, with the campaign aiming to tap into the most simple but deep-set feeling a fans can have; that chase for pure joy.

With creative from Tony Pipes and direction by Claire Norowzian, the TVC was shot on location at Wanstead Flats, London and combines live-action and animation. The black and white aesthetic of the film is juxtaposed with the colourful animated graphics, brought to life by animation studio Grizzle. In order to achieve the eclectic and vivid nature of the film Grizzle incorporated 3D elements with a 2D look, in addition to hand drawn animation, which further complement the feeling of total Euro-phoria. 

“With this campaign we wanted to connect authentically with fans and look forward to things to come," said Rachel King, Creative Director at ITV Creative. "The fact we have waited for over a year for this tournament means that fans have lots of pent up excitement to share and we wanted to tap into that. Ian Wright is the perfect embodiment of joy. His passion for the game is what we wanted to communicate from the screen onto fans and Claire and the team at Grizzle really made this stand out on screen in an original way aesthetically.”

“It has been a thrill to work on the Euros with the ITV Creative dream team," said Norowzian. "Directing Ian Wright was a pure joy, and bringing his euphoric vibes to screen with the beauty of Grizzle's genius and stunning animation was seamless. Good times!”